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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · root · track · cap · cell · capital · straw · wind

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. track — a song
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. root — of a word
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. cap — a hat
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. root — the cause
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. capital — money
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com